.
American Bison (Bison bison): photo by Jack Dykinga, 28 September 2005 (U. S. Department of Agriculture)
Still we met at the museum
to gaze unseeing at a mummy.
We walked in the park
past places where we once kissed.
We spoke of each other
as one would of a friend
dead for a few years.
You caught me admiring
a young swaying body.
You asked at that moment,
"What're you thinking about?"
"Buffaloes," I lied.
Red Shuttleworth: Buffaloes, from Chicago Tribune Magazine, 30 September 1973
Bison herd grazing at the National Bison Range, Montana: photo by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 24 June 2008 (USFWS/Dept. of Interior)
Bison roam with Teton Range in background, Montana: photo by Dag Peak, 22 August 2004
7 comments:
Beautiful, Red. And that's the truth.
Thank you so much, Tom, for blogging this poem from my (relative) youth. And thank you, too, Hazen. How strange to bring this poem back into light after.... Golden Gate Park in 1972 had a "Buffalo Paddock," and one could go their with day-old bread loaves and bison ran to a cyclone fence to wait for slices to be tossed. Wonderful place to take a loved girl. THANK YOU!!!
This poet's work always surprises me with its subtlety and wit, and never ever tires me. I keep waiting to read the "next one." The buffalo images (close-up, further away, much further away) are all stunning and affecting. It's great to see them graze and roam. Curtis
I've lied with them buffaloes on my lip times aplenty..youthful slippage in turn, or out of turn are a thing to live by in memory..I already feel like I've visited my past here..Wonder poem by Red..
Great stuff, Red. And "Buffaloes" has to be one of the bestest lies I've come across.
Wonderful poem. Economical & funny.
I love this! Sorry I missed it when it was posted!
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